Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 918: Encountering a Robber on the Road
Zhuge Liang took out a light white feather fan and waved it for a while, then smiled and said, "Uncle is worried that His Majesty is too strict with the nobles. Although there are great prospects in Luoyang, if there is a slight mistake in words and deeds, there will be a disaster."

"Hahaha..." Zhuge Xuan laughed, twirling his beard. "Liang'er is indeed very smart. In your opinion, is this worry unnecessary?"

Zhuge Liang bowed and said, "Since you have asked me this, I dare not fail to answer truthfully. From my perspective, Your Majesty has confiscated many of the noble families in the court over the years, and now you are imposing heavy taxes on them. This seems inhumane and disrespectful to the virtuous."

"However, all these measures were taken for the great cause of unifying the Han Dynasty. Secondly, the emperor encouraged ordinary people to engage in farming and cultivation. Not only did he not increase taxes, but he also reduced taxes to benefit the people. Although the wealthy families suffered a little damage due to the new tax policy, it was just a drop in the ocean, a drop in the ocean, not worth mentioning. Thirdly, all of your majesty's measures were in accordance with the law. The Chen, Zheng, Feng, Zhao and other families all ended up like this because they deceived the emperor and even committed treason. Your majesty also exempted the old and young from the death penalty, and was not cruel or harsh. It conforms to the Confucianism's benevolent government and the Legalists' rule of law."

"With such a wise ruler in power, my uncle has nothing to worry about when he goes to Luoyang. As long as he strictly abides by the laws of the country and acts impartially, what should he do?"

Zhuge Jin gave Zhuge Liang a thumbs up, and after Zhuge Xuan thought about it for a while, he suddenly understood.

"Okay, okay, Liang'er is thoughtful and far-sighted, and your uncle has nothing to fear. With a son like this, our Zhuge family will surely prosper. Hahaha..."

He laughed particularly heartily, but suddenly another head popped out from the carriage. It was a woman in her thirties. She glared at Zhuge Xuan with some resentment.

"Laugh, laugh, laugh! You have woken up our son and nephews. Hurry up and get going. Jun'er is still young. If he stays in the wilderness for too long, he will catch a cold. You uncles and brothers know that you are talking happily."

The three of them were immediately filled with embarrassment and shame, and hurried on their way.

"Kill..."

Suddenly, a large number of bandits rushed out from the mountains and forests on both sides. They were all ferocious and had extremely unfriendly expressions, and there were thousands of them.

They rushed out with murderous intent, scaring the caravans one by one and making them flee quickly. For some reason, these bandits did not chase the caravans, but quickly surrounded Zhuge's caravan.

Zhuge Xuan was shocked when he saw this sudden change, and instinctively drew his sword from his waist: "Zi Yu, go back and protect your family and brothers."

"Yes, uncle, be careful." Zhuge Jin also drew his sword and guarded the side of the carriage, while the hundreds of followers who followed also drew their weapons and surrounded the convoy in the middle.

The sudden incident frightened several women and children in the carriage and they all started crying. Zhuge Xuan's wife and a concubine, although also very panicked, did not care about themselves and hurried to coax the children.

A young boy about eleven or twelve years old, holding a spear, was about to rush out of the carriage, but was stopped by Zhuge Liang.

"Brother, don't be so arrogant. The bandits are very powerful. Let's wait and see."

"But my uncle and the others..." The young man was a little anxious. Zhuge Liang gently waved his feather fan and looked outside calmly, taking in all the movements of the bandits.

"Cousin, although you have practiced martial arts since childhood, two fists cannot defeat four hands. If you go out rashly, you will only die. Don't worry, I am sure these bandits are not here for our lives."

"Oh? How did you know that, brother?"

Zhuge Liang smiled mysteriously but did not answer. The young man felt bored and pursed his lips. Although he did not rush out again, he still held the spear tightly in his hand.

Zhuge Xuan held his sword across his chest and saluted the two bandit leaders on horseback in front of him.

"I am Zhuge Xuan of Langya. I wonder why you leaders are blocking my way?"

There were two bandit leaders, one with a dark face and curly beard, and the other with a white face and no beard. The two looked at each other, and then the bearded man pointed forward with the big knife in his hand.

"It's nothing, the deep winter is approaching, and my brothers are short of food and clothing, so I come to borrow some money and food to get through the winter." Hearing his matter-of-fact tone, Zhuge Xuan's mouth twitched, but he quickly put on a smile again.

"Haha, I see. We are moving our entire clan to Luoyang, and we don't have much with us, so it's hard to help with the clothes. Let me tell you, I have a few gold ingots, some food, and meat jerky. If you don't mind, you can take them back to the mountain stronghold and use them as a winter's provisions."

He waved to several of his followers, who took out a cloth bag from the donkey cart, and moved out dozens of bags of food and dozens of jerky, and placed them on the grass between the two sides.

Zhuge Xuan clasped his fists and said, "It's just a small token of my appreciation. Please accept it."

The two leaders looked at the things on the ground and showed a satisfied look.

"Okay, you are indeed a sensible person. Brothers, take the things away."

A group of bandits came running over, yelling, and carried all these things back.

Zhuge Xuan heaved a sigh of relief when he saw this. He was about to express his gratitude and leave, but he saw the two leaders looking at the convoys behind him. He suddenly felt something was wrong.

The bearded thief licked his lips, his eyes showing lustful expressions: "Since the whole family is moving, there must be a lot of women in this carriage, right?"

Zhuge Xuan's face darkened: "Everyone, please stop."

"Puh!" The white-faced, beardless man spat at him.

"We brothers have taken a fancy to your women. It is an honor for you. How dare you make excuses here? How ignorant. Hurry up and hand over all the women in the car. Otherwise, we brothers will take them away ourselves."

As soon as he said this, the bandits rushed forward like hungry wolves, weapons raised high.

"You guys..." Zhuge Xuan was at a loss for a moment when he saw the situation was so critical.

"You damned thief, wait for me..."

Zhuge Dan could no longer bear it and was about to go out with his gun in hand, but was again forcibly held down by Zhuge Liang.

"Cousin, why do you keep trying to stop me? You are afraid of death, but I am not."

Zhuge Liang smiled and said, "I know you are not afraid of death, but we don't need to solve this crisis. Someone will come soon to kill these bandits."

Zhuge Dan was stunned: "Who is it? Where are the other people around here?"

Zhuge Liang pointed to the caravans in the distance and said, "Look, that's them."

"What? Count on them? Cousin, you are right, aren't you? These caravans are all cowards. Look at them. When they saw the bandits coming, those in front of us ran faster than rabbits, and those behind us also stopped immediately. No one came to help. Do you still expect them to save us?"

Zhuge Liang smiled slightly: "You don't believe it? Then just watch patiently."

(End of this chapter)